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to h igh e r m athem atics w e encountered the lo o m in g shapes of m onsters w hich w o uld
spoil our sw eet dispositions and be our first real taskm asters.
N o th in g, how ever, could really conquer our spirits, w hich had a tendency to
bubble over frequently and w ere allo w e d to cool ofif w h ile our heads rested m ore
or less com fortably on the desks. O nce in a w h ile som eone b o ld er than the rest
had to stand in the corner w ith the red of his ears p ractically reflecting in the shiny
blackboards.
O ur first school year proved to be a successful experim en t, but it w as w ith lit­
tle regret that w e disbanded late in M a y for our first su m m er’s vacation.
W e found several new com ers in our ranks at the start of our second year, am o ng
these Bob A ckerm an , D on Boyden, B arker Slade, an d Floyd T o m kin s. W e m issed
the sh in in g faces of D ick C onlon and D ick Jenckes.
M iss Parch had the u n en viab le task of p resid in g over our class this year. U nder
her tu telag e w e tackled division and learned our first in stallm en t of the m u ltip lica­
tion tables. So fond w ere w e of sh o w in g our k n o w led g e that m an y of us could not
resist ta lk in g out of turn, a practice w hich M iss Parch exercised considerable in­
gen u ity to break.
A n d truly, w e learn ed about cows from M iss Parch, for did she not teach us
w hence com eth the choicest steaks, and for w h at u n th in k ab le purposes the hooves,
bristles, and other rem ains w ere used? For practical k n o w led g e w e m an ufactured
butter in a qu art m ason jar. Each boy w as allo w e d to stand in front of the class
and shake the jar an allo tted num ber of tim es w ith the proper cocktail motion,
w h ile the rest of the class carefu lly counted to see that no one "chiseled” an extra
shake or two. G reat w as our disappointm ent w hen, the butter h av in g been prop­
erly salted an d spread on saltines, w e had to share it w ith other classes. W e d id n ’t
m ind '"getting in g o o d ” w ith a few teachers, but those other fello w s that h ad n ’t
done a lick of w o r k — !
O ne of the greatest th rills w e received this year w as b ein g allo w e d to use ink.
A few of the neater boys tried it before C hristm as; everyone had it after C hristm as.
W e enjoyed ink, thoroughly; our first experience w ith ink left a firm print on— w e ll,
on our hands, faces, clothes, and a little on the p ap er w e w ere using. W e w e re cured
of some of our carelessness by h av in g to sandpaper the spots w e m ad e on the floor.
M iss Bufium , our d ra w in g teacher for this year, stretched her im ag in atio n and
go o d-n aturedly approved of our attem pts in art, w h ile she endeavored to teach us
how to represent a person by m ore than a straigh t line w ith g a n g lin g ap p en dages.
Bob A ckerm an and W y m a n Pendleton started their careers young, for from
their seats by the w in d o w s on the side facing the drive they am used them selves by
b lo w in g kisses to the girls w ho occasionally ap peared from that realm of realm s—
the upper school.
W e absorbed our Merrill Second Reader and delved into a book on m yth o lo gy
w hich seem ed a bit far-fetched but nevertheless in terestin g to us.
T h e fall of our third year found us w ith m an y new faces in our m idst, am o ng
these b ein g R ichm ond W h ite , H arry Pett, G eorge Self, John Fulton, Jo n ath a n K il-
bourne, and N ath an N ichols. D ick C onlon w as ag ain in our com pany, but w e m issed
Bob A ckerm an , D ick H olt, B ill C um m ings, and Ed Eberle. For a teacher w e had
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